


Idle Hands

by OldWomanJosie



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-23
Updated: 2014-10-23
Packaged: 2018-02-22 07:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2499944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OldWomanJosie/pseuds/OldWomanJosie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Glorfindel, Legolas, Aragorn, Elrond, Erestor, Elladan and Elrohir woke up in Rivendell one morning and screamed. It was something a few of them hadn’t done since around the turn of the Age. But there was excellent reason for it. Body swap day at Rivendell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Idle Hands

Glorfindel, Legolas, Aragorn, Elrond, Erestor, Elladan and Elrohir woke up in Rivendell one morning and screamed. It was something a few of them hadn’t done since around the turn of the Age. But there was excellent reason for it. However, there was only one person missing from this momentous occasion.

__

“Lindir.”

“Mmmm.”

“Lin-dir.”

“Mmm-mmm.”

“Lindir!”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Lindy.”

The minstrel turned over grumpily. “What?” And he found himself staring up at...himself. Lindir ran his fingers through his hair and held it before his eyes. It was dark brown. He groaned and put his head back on the pillows. “Elrond?”

“Of course.”

“This had to happen today.”

“You know something about this?” The voice was sickly sweet and Lindir hated it that the words came from his own lips.

Another groan escaped Lindir. Or Elrond, to be more specific. “Technically, it’s not my fault.”

“However, Lindir, when we woke up this morning, we weren’t ourselves.” This came from the prince of Mirkwood, who was leaning against the wall by the door. Lindir raised an eyebrow. “Legolas?”

The elf smiled. “Actually, Legolas is over there,” pointing to the human sitting in the window. “I’m Aragorn.”

Lindir sat up. “How many more?”

“Glorfindel and I,” the Balrog Slayer muttered. 

“Elladan and Elrohir?”

“Probably,” Erestor said. “But they look so much alike they could change every day of the week and no one would know it.”

“I’d know it,” their father snapped. Then he turned back to the minstrel who was in HIS body and sitting on HIS bed. “Now Lindir, are you going to get up?”

“No,” answered the elf sleepily.

“You’re sitting up, and you can’t go back to bed now.”

“Watch me.” Lindir slid back underneath the sheets and closed his eyes. “I’m the Lord of Imladris now, so you have to do what I tell you. Which means I can sleep all day.” He grinned mischievously.

“You may look like the Lord of Imladris, but I think like him,” hissed Elrond. “You know something and you have to tell us what’s going on before the party from Mirkwood gets here this afternoon.”

“Yes, do tell. I can’t greet my father looking like this.” Legolas picked at his hair, wondering when was the last time Estel had washed it.

Aragorn was on the defensive. “Hey, I like my body, thank you and I wouldn’t mind having it back either. I’m supposed to go and be presented to the Dunedain today, in case you forgot.”

Elladan and Elrohir burst into the room at that moment, both yelling, “Ada!!!!”

Elrond-in-Lindir’s-body turned to face them and they stopped dead. “You too?” asked Glorfindel to be sure.

“Yup,” said Elrohir. “Woke up this morning, expecting to go to the Dunedain with Estel and I find out I’m in Elladan’s body!” 

Elrond tapped his foot. “Calm down. Lindir knows something and we can’t get to the bottom of this unless he gets out of MY bed!”

The twins conferred with each other for a moment, then Elladan asked, “Estel, do you remember the time we played that prank on Erestor with the geese and the lettuce?”

Lindir’s eyes popped open.

“What if we did that again, but do it to Lindir this time-“

“Alright, I’m up!” The elf bounded out of the bed, glaring daggers at the two. “If you ever-“

“Relax, Lindir.” Glorfindel sat him down on the bed again. “Now just tell us why I’M IN ERESTOR’S BODY!”

Lindir flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “Would you guys totally kill me if I said the blue wizards made me do it?”

“There aren’t any blue wizards!” 

“Actually Este- Legolas, there are.” Elrond said. “They came over the sea with Curunir and Mithrandir and Aiwendil. However, they were little known and I had thought they’d gone back over the sea..?” He turned to Lindir questioningly.

“Alatar and Pallando. They went into the east, but contrary to rumor did not turn to evil. They were fighting it and have recently returned from there. They are currently staying with Cirdan at Mithlond. We’ve been corresponding for months. They sent me a riddle-song a few weeks ago and I sang it after dinner last night.”

“And now we’ve swapped bodies,” finished Legolas. “Never trust a riddle-song from a wizard.”

“Do you remember the words, Lindir?” Erestor asked. “Maybe they have some clue.”

“Well...”

“Lindir, don’t give me that,” Elrond said. “You never forget anything. You remember the year of the wine Celebrian and I served at our wedding. So you can’t tell me you don’t remember.”

Lindir sighed. “Let me think about it. I have the most fantastic headache right now.”

“We’ll talk about it at breakfast then,” Glorfindel said. As the group filed out of the room, Elrond looked pleadingly at Lindir.

“Lindir, please....don’t do anything strange to me?”

The elf’s eyes gleamed. “Ooh, like what?” he said under his breath as the door closed.

__

In the breakfast chamber, pandemonium broke loose again. “WHAT have you done to me?”

Before anyone could make a move to tear apart their former friends, Elrond moved among them. “I don’t care what you look like-” He broke off as he glanced around. ‘Erestor’ had his hair in Glorfindel’s warrior braids and ‘Legolas’ had on some of Aragorn’s clothes, something Elrond thought he’d never see. They all looked a bit strange. He glared at the harper and Lindir gave him a half-shrug. Elrond sighed. “I don’t care much, anyway. But as long as you haven’t done something that isn’t fixable, I want you all to all go back to your rooms after breakfast and try to look as normal as possible for your current...body.”

There were muttered agreements all around and they took their seats at the breakfast table.

“Now, Lindir, have you got the lyrics to that song?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, right.” The minstrel pulled out a sheet of paper and began to read in that singsong kind of voice people use when they’re trying not to sing.

_Speak the speech I pray you,  
Two becoming two  
The minstrel and the herald,  
Brothers heart and true  
The scholar and the warrior,  
The sea and open sky  
The blue ones ‘neath the Greenwood trees  
Are where the answer lies._

Legolas leaned over to read it for himself. “Lindir, that makes no sense.”

Lindir shrugged and laid it flat on the table. “The middle lines are sort of easy, really. Each group are ones who switched bodies. The minstrel and the herald are Elrond and I, the scholar and the warrior are naturally Glorfindel and Erestor. Brothers heart and true is a little tougher, but that would be you and Aragorn as heart and Elladan and Elrohir as true. So that’s Glory, Tory, Telly, Ronny, Danny, Elly, Glassen and me.”

He looked up from his parchment to find every eye on him. “What?”

Glorfindel gritted his teeth. “Lindir, when you gave us these little nicknames, did it amuse you?”

The minstrel thought for a minute. “As a matter of fact, it still does.”

Glorfindel cracked his knuckles audibly, making the counselor wince. They were his hands, after all. “Good, because they say laughter is the best medicine.” He rose, clearly intending to pulverize the elf, but Elrond intercepted him.

“As annoying as his names for us are, you are not going to bruise Erestor’s hands by bloodying my face. Now sit down!”

‘Erestor’ sat with a thump, still glaring daggers at Lindir, who was muttering to himself. “If you ever touch me, Glorfindel, I will-“

“Breakfast!” Elladan interrupted as the meal was laid on the table and they began to eat. They ate in relative silence, but soon an argument broke out between Erestor and Glorfindel. The Balrog slayer reached for the sugar bowl, only to have Erestor place it out of his reach. 

“Re’t, come on! A slender, high-spirited person needs their sugar rush in the morning, now give it back!” ‘Erestor’ stretched his fingers toward the bowl, only to have it snatched away again. The counselor glared at his friend.

“I don’t think so. Unlike you, I don’t get out much, so I have to be careful about what I eat. Which means not eating the insane amounts of sugar that you do. So you are not getting any sugar while you’re in my body.” Then he paused, thinking. “However, since I’m in your body...”

Glorfindel looked like he might cry. “Re’t, do you have to? In front of me?” Erestor, however, was not listening. He was busy sprinkling sugar over his fruit in gleeful abandon. Elrohir was taken by a coughing fit that sounded amazingly like giggling as ‘Glorfindel’ continued to tease his friend, who was having no success at commandeering the sugar bowl. 

The conflict would have continued if an elf hadn’t popped his head around the door at that very instant and announced, “Lord Elrond, King Thranduil’s party has been spotted. They’re on their way.” He was shocked when every person at the table groaned in unison and put their head in their hands.

__

The company stood on the front porch of Imladris after breakfast, preparing to meet Thranduil. Or in the twins and ‘Aragorn’s’ case, preparing to leave for the Dunedain encampment. Elladan and Elrohir were mounted and were waiting for Legolas to mount his own horse. Aragorn said, “Legolas, please remember who you are and don’t do anything...strange.”

Legolas smiled and winked at him. “Of course, gwador. Say hello to my father for me.” He sung onto the horse and looked down at his friend, who was shaking his head  
.  
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? Not having to sit through tedious meetings between elf lords?”

Legolas laughed. “Enjoying it immensely. But never fear, I will take good care of your body and return it posthaste.” With that he turned and rode off with the twins. Aragorn watched them go, tapping long fingers against his leg in irritation.

“He irks me.” ‘Legolas’ turned back to the rest. “Alright, now what? Thranduil will be here soon.”

Elrond nodded and smoothed his fingers over Lindir’s hair one final time. “Now remember whose body you’re in,” he said quietly. “And when in doubt, just smile.”

Aragorn stifled a chuckle. “Ada, you have said some weird things to me in my life, but that takes the cake. ‘Remember whose body you’re in’ to four grown people!” He put a hand over his mouth at his father’s unamused glare.

“Funny,” the elf said. “Now straighten up, all of you, here comes Thranduil.”

As the Mirkwood party came up the trail, Lindir’s mouth dropped open. Elrond poked him in the back. “Stop staring, it’s rude. You’ve seen wood elves before.”

Lindir hissed, “No, no, it’s not that. I mean yes, they are very blue-“

Glorfindel muttered _sotto voce_ , “Which raises the question of why Legolas isn’t blue...” Then he received a shove that nearly threw him off the porch from the current occupant of his body.

‘Elrond’ made an attempt at the famed ‘Eyebrow of Doom’ before continuing. “-But it’s who’s with them that I’m staring at. Look.”

‘Lindir’ craned his neck to see and uttered a strangled, “Oh thank the Valier!” when he saw the blue wizards. Alatar and Pallando walked serenely beside King Thranduil’s mount, looking very pleased with themselves. “Now maybe we’ll get back where we belong,” Elrond muttered.

Aragorn snickered at that. Then the wood elves were there and the charade began. Lindir practically floated down the steps and met the Elvenking as he dismounted. “Greetings, Thranduil my friend. I trust your journey was safe?”

The blue elf eyed the Lord of Imladris warily. “It was fine, thank you Elrond.” ‘Elrond’ continued chatting amiably with the king as he led him into the Last Homely House. Glorfindel leaned over to Elrond and whispered, “I thought relations weren’t the best between Mirkwood and Imladris?”

‘Lindir’ put his hand over his face in despair. “They aren’t. Oh, fates preserve us from an ersatz elf lord.”

**Author's Note:**

> I may add more to this later, but at the moment, it is what it is.


End file.
